Incentives for local hotel guests

The Experience Jamaica promotion offering "incredible vacation values at home" is a stark reality that the hotels in the tourism sector are partially empty. It is unfortunate that it takes a severe economic recession for the sector to extend a blanket open door to ordinary Jamaicans.

While the industry is foremost in attracting hard-currency guests, it has largely ignored the potential of the ordinary Jamaicans by a pricing policy that pegs hotel rates to the US dollar, resulting in a weekend stay for locals becoming out of reach.

Many ordinary Jamaicans who make the room-per-night costs have often complained that they do not receive the excellent service that is reserved for white guests. In fact, when we were in the industry, there were numerous complaints by African-American tourists that they themselves were not treated as well as their white counterparts. Some Jamaicans, therefore, holiday abroad.

If locals were offered a discounted price, not necessarily 50 per cent or more, many more Jamaicans could enjoy the hotel facilities that dot our country. Then, no special promotions would be necessary, because it would be the norm for locals to vacation at home.

- Claude Wilson

jaclaudew@yahoo.com

Christian capitalism is OK

Yeshua (Jesus) nowhere taught against wealth accumulation. From my understanding, he taught against hoarding wealth and becoming a slave to it, making it your god. In Matthew 19, the rich man claimed he had kept the commandments from his youth, but Yeshua showed him that he hadn't even kept the first one. He made his wealth his god.

In Luke 16, the problem was not with the certain rich man having a bountiful harvest, and not because he dressed in expensive clothing and ate the best prepared food. His problem was that he decided to hoard his wealth and despise the poor man outside his gate, thus despising God.

Yeshua chose businessmen to be his disciples because they are diligent workers, can handle money, people and distribution well. God cannot be against wealth when he says in Deuteronomy 8 that he gives us power to get wealth.

Yeshua's ministry was supported by women of 'substance', Luke 8:1-3. It is not the poor that have it to give; it is the ones that accumulate the wealth.

It is very good for Christians to prosper, accumulate wealth, hire and pay others well so they can improve their lives and be able to give to the poor and support the work of God.

Locksley Maitland

prosperNhealthy1@aol.com

Dallas, Texas